Presenting an advertisement in a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A technique for providing advertisement information is disclosed. The technique includes, in part sending, from a device built into a vehicle, a first set of data to a server, the first set of data corresponding to measurements performed by one or more sensors, receiving a first set of elements from the server in response to the first set of data, presenting one or more elements from the first set of elements to a user of the vehicle on a display in the vehicle, and receiving at least one input corresponding to at least one selected element among the one or more elements.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims benefit under 35 USC 119 (e) of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/936,083, entitled “Responding to an Advertisement onan in-dash vehicle display,” filed Feb. 5, 2014, the content of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to presenting relevantinformation to a user, and more particularly to a method for generatinga real-time stream of information associated with inputs from acomputing device and presenting the information via an electronic devicedisposed in a vehicle.

BACKGROUND

An advertisement, hereinafter also referred to as an “ad,” is used tomarket and sell a product or service. Typical advertisements containprimary information in the form of text, images and/or audio informationabout a product or service. The primary information in the advertisementmay also contain information, such as a toll-free 800 number, a websiteaddress, a physical street address, or another means of action, thatprovides a way for the viewer or listener to take an action to eitherbuy the product or obtain more supplemental information related to theproduct. Magazine and video ads, roadside billboards, street-level ads,posters in the subway or bus stops, digital-out-of-home advertisements,kiosks, advertisements on vehicles such as taxis, buses, cars, and thelike, contain similar information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An understanding of the nature and advantages of various embodiments maybe realized by reference to the following figures. In the appendedfigures, similar components or features may have the same referencelabel.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary communication system including a devicedisposed or built-in a vehicle, a mobile device, and a server, accordingto one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a simplified perspective view of a vehicle interacting withworld-wide-web or cloud network, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 shows exemplary operations that may be performed by a device,according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows exemplary operations that may be performed by a server,according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a simplified perspective view of a graphic display screenof a vehicle, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows an example scenario in which an in-vehicle device interactswith a mobile device for displaying the information, according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a simplified block diagram of a computer system that mayincorporate embodiments of the present invention.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a method for providing information to a user of avehicle is disclosed. The method includes, in part, sending, from adevice built into the vehicle, a first set of data to a server, thefirst set of data corresponding to measurements performed by one or moresensors, receiving a first set of elements from the server in responseto the first set of data, presenting one or more elements from the firstset of elements to the user on a display in the vehicle, and receivingfrom the user a selection from among the one or more elements. In oneembodiment, the method further includes, in part, sending a second setof data of interest to the user to the server.

In one embodiment, the at least one input corresponds to at least onefurther action to be taken by the device. In one embodiment, the atleast one action includes requesting additional informationcorresponding to the selected element. In one embodiment, the at leastone action includes requesting navigational information to a venuecorresponding to the advertiser. In one embodiment, the at least oneaction includes a request to enter into a transaction or a potentialtransaction associated with the selected element.

In one embodiment, presenting one or more elements from the first set ofelements includes, in part, sending the one or more elements to a seconddevice associated with the user to be presented on a screen of thesecond device. In one embodiment, the at least one input is receivedfrom an input device built into the vehicle. In one embodiment, the atleast one input is received from a second device associated with theuser. In one embodiment, the display is built into the vehicle or partof a device being transported in the vehicle. In one embodiment, themethod further includes, in part, synchronizing a first display builtinto the vehicle with a second display of a second device, said seconddevice being associated with the user.

In one embodiment, presenting one or more elements from the first set ofelements includes presenting an audio corresponding to the one or moreelements. In one embodiment, at least one of the one or more sensors isdisposed in the vehicle. In one embodiment, at least one of the one ormore sensors is disposed in a second device associated with the user.

In one embodiment, a method for selecting advertisement is disclosed.The method includes, in part, receiving a first set of datacorresponding to measurements performed by one or more sensors,selecting one or more output elements from a second set of data inaccordance with the first set of data, the second set of datacorresponding to one or more advertisements, and sending the one or moreoutput elements to a device built-in a vehicle to be presented to a userof the vehicle.

In one embodiment, the first set of data is received from the devicebuilt-in the vehicle. In one embodiment, the first set of outputelements is selected based further on a set of data of interest to theuser. In one embodiment, selecting one or more output elements from asecond set of data includes, in part, ranking the second set of databased on their relevance with the first set of data to generate a rankedset of data, and selecting one or more of highest ranked elements fromthe ranked set of data as the one or more output elements.

In one embodiment, an apparatus built into a vehicle for providinginformation to a user is disclosed. The apparatus includes, in part, atransmitter for sending a first set of data to a server, the first setof data corresponding to measurements performed by one or more sensors,a receiver for receiving a first set of elements from the server inresponse to the first set of data, a display for presenting one or moreelements from the first set of elements to the user, and an input devicefor receiving from the user a selection from among the one or moreelements.

In one embodiment, a non-transitory processor-readable medium forproviding information to a user of a vehicle is disclosed. Thenon-transitory processor-readable medium includes, in part,processor-readable instructions configured to cause a processor to send,from a device built into the vehicle, a first set of data to a server,the first set of data corresponding to measurements performed by one ormore sensors, receive a first set of elements from the server inresponse to the first set of data, present one or more elements from thefirst set of elements to the user on a display in the vehicle, andreceive from the user a selection from among the one or more elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Several illustrative embodiments will now be described with respect tothe accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. While particularembodiments, in which one or more aspects of the disclosure may beimplemented, are described below, other embodiments may be used andvarious modifications may be made without departing from the scope ofthe disclosure or the spirit of the appended claims. The word“exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, orillustration.” Any embodiment or design described herein as “exemplary”is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous overother embodiments or designs.

As used herein, the term “vehicle” or automotive vehicle refers to adevice that is used for transporting people and/or goods, such as a car,a sport-utility-vehicle (SUV), a truck, a bus, a boat, a vessel or anyother moving apparatus.

As used herein, the term “mobile device” refers to any portablecomputing and/or communication device that is portable and can be movedfrom one place to another. For example, a mobile device may be acellular telephone, cell-phone, smartphone, tablet, wirelesscommunication device, laptop computer, mini-laptop, pad, mini-tablet,mini-pad, personal digital assistant (PDA), personal audio device (PAD),head-mount display (HMD), GPS device, and/or other movable devices. Amobile device may further refer to a wearable computing device. Thewearable computing device may include a processor and a memory, and canbe worn on the body. Wearable computing devices may in general have anyform, such as an eyeglass, an earpiece, a wristband, a wrist-device, amedallion, a device worn around the neck, an arm band, an arm-device, adevice worn on the head such as a hat, a piece of clothing such as ashirt, a pair of pants, a scarf, and the like, a piece of outer clothingsuch as a coat, jacket, or the like.

In recent years, vehicles have become more and more sophisticated. Manyof today's vehicles may include one or more built-in computing devices.These built-in computing devices usually control differentfunctionalities of the vehicle. Computing devices built into thevehicles and/or mobile devices may contain a variety of sensors anddata-input devices or rely on or use inputs from a variety of sensors ordata-input devices. Typical information, hereinafter also referred to as“data,” from these devices may include global positioning system (GPS)location information, wireless network status, mobile cell phone towerlocation, device acceleration, audio inputs, video inputs, vehiclestatus, fingerprint sensors, ambient light inputs, information aboutother devices associated or nearby the user's mobile device, e.g.,tethered Bluetooth® devices, and/or the like.

A user of such vehicles and/or mobile devices may also be associatedwith various online social accounts or networks, such as Facebook,Twitter, LinkedIn and other similar accounts and/or networks. Onlinesocial account information may include a user's likes and dislikes,which may represent the user's interests.

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a computer-implementedmethod for providing advertisement information to a user. In oneembodiment, advertisement information may be ranked and/or selectedbased on data measured by one or more environmental sensors. In oneembodiment, the one or more environmental sensors may be associated witha vehicle, or a mobile device that is transported by the vehicle. In oneembodiment, the advertisement information may be displayed on a screenbuilt into a dashboard of a vehicle. In another embodiment, theadvertisement information may be displayed on a screen of a mobiledevice associated with the user of the vehicle. In one embodiment, boththe in-vehicle device and the mobile device may be associated with alocation of the user when the user invokes the in-vehicle device torespond to an advertisement.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary block diagram of a system including anin-vehicle computing device 110, a mobile device 130, and a server 120,according to one embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated,the in-vehicle computing device 110 may communicate with server 120either directly or indirectly. In one embodiment, the in-vehiclecomputing device 110 may communicate with the server through an internetcloud or word-wide web. In another embodiment, the in-vehicle computingdevice may communicate with the server through a cell-tower or asatellite system. In general, the in-vehicle computing device 110 maycommunicate with the server using any known techniques, withoutdeparting from the teachings of the present disclosure.

The in-vehicle computing device 110 may also communicate directly orindirectly with a mobile device 130. The mobile device 130 may beassociated with a user of the vehicle. For example, the mobile devicemay belong to the driver or any of the passengers of the vehicle. Themobile device may be transported by the vehicle. In one embodiment, thein-vehicle device may communicate with the mobile device throughpeer-to-peer communication, such as Bluetooth or any other wirelesscommunication scheme. In another embodiment, the mobile device may beconnected to the vehicle (and hence the in-vehicle computing device)through a wire (e.g., through a built-in USB port). In anotherembodiment, the mobile device may communicate with the in-vehicle deviceindirectly, e.g., through internet 140, or the server 120.

In one embodiment, the server 120 is a computing device located in theinternet cloud, which may provide a critical advantage of not addingadditional computational or data storage burdens on the device built-inthe vehicle and/or the mobile device. In one embodiment, the serverperforms calculations in one or more computing devices “in the cloud,”with such computing devices connected to the in-vehicle computing deviceand/or mobile device via a wireless connection, such as a WiFi®, mobiledata network, Bluetooth®, Satellite or similar networks.

In one embodiment, the in-vehicle computing device 110 receives datacorresponding to measurements from one or more sensors. The one or moresensors in real-time sense primary information about the environment inthe local vicinity, line-of-sight, and/or hearing distance adjacent tothe vehicle and/or the user. Primary information may refer to theinformation that can be directly sensed from the local environment inreal-time. The one or more sensors sense primary information,hereinafter also referred to as an “environmental signal,” such aslocation information (e.g., GPS or cellular system location), altimeterelevation, device acceleration, motion, audio, video, biometricinformation about driver and/or passengers of the vehicle (e.g., heartrate, breathing rate, retina scan, etc.), ambient light, near-fieldcommunication, wireless network status, infrared, ultrasonic,gyroscopic, orientation, vehicle status, air-bag status and/or any otherparameters.

In general, the mobile device and/or the in-vehicle computing device mayinclude a multitude of such sensors to sense information associated withthe user's environment in real-time. Further, a sensor may be associatedwith the mobile device through another portable or wearable device(e.g., a second device) that is different than but tethered wirelesslyor by wire to the mobile device in various combinations. In other words,a sensor need not be on the user's mobile device and/or in-vehicledevice but may be associated with the user's device. For example, anaudio microphone may be located on an earpiece wirelessly connected tothe mobile device. In one embodiment, primary information may betransmitted to the server directly or indirectly. For example, thein-vehicle device may directly transmit sensor data to the server. Inanother example, the in-vehicle device may be tethered to a mobiledevice and transmit the sensor data to the server through the mobiledevice. In yet another example, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch)may be tethered to the mobile device and/or in-vehicle device. Themobile device and/or the in-vehicle device may relay the data from thewearable device to the server.

FIG. 2 depicts a simplified perspective view of a vehicle interactingwith world-wide-web or cloud network 270, according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. As illustrated, the automotive vehicle 200 mayinclude a dashboard 210, which in turn includes a graphic display screen220 coupled to a built-in computing device 230 (hereinafter referred toas in-vehicle computing device). The in-vehicle computing devicecontrols information presented to a user of the vehicle on the displayscreen 220. In one embodiment, in-vehicle computing device 230 mayinclude one or more processors. Each of the processors may be adapted tocontrol navigation and/or entertainment features of the vehicle, suchas, for example, Ford Motor Company's SYNC® system, or other automotivemanufacturer's proprietary system built into the vehicle. In general,the in-vehicle computing device 230 may include any number of processorsand/or input/output devices without departing from the teachings of thepresent disclosure.

In one embodiment, in-vehicle computing device 230 may includecommunication circuits and sensors similar to those included in themobile devices. In another embodiment, in-vehicle computing device 230may be tethered by wire and/or wirelessly to one or more mobile devices250 transported on automotive vehicle 200. For example, the geographiclocation (GPS), heading, direction, speed and other geographic locationdata associated with the user's location may come from the vehicle'sGPS, e.g. from the electronic device disposed in the vehicle, the user'smobile phone GPS, and/or the user's wearable computing device when thewearable computing device has its own internal GPS sensors.

In one embodiment, in-vehicle computing device 230 may directlycommunicate wirelessly with the world-wide-web or cloud network 270. Inthis scenario, the in-vehicle computing device does not need anintermediary mobile device to be tethered nearby. In an alternativeembodiment, in-vehicle computing device 230 may be tethered to mobiledevice 250 carried on the vehicle 200, such that wireless communicationto internet cloud 270 may be provided by the tethered mobile device 250.

In one embodiment, information associated with the user's mobile deviceand/or the in-vehicle device may be transmitted to the server. Forexample, when the airbags in an automotive vehicle go off as a result ofa crash, the airbag status sensors may be used to report the airbagdeployment, vehicle identification, and/or vehicle location informationto the server for the purpose of customizing, finding, and/or deliveringadvertisement information to the computing device in the vehicle. Inanother example, tire or engine-status sensor information may bereported to the server.

FIG. 3 shows exemplary operations that may be performed by an in-vehicledevice for providing advertisement information, according to oneembodiment of the present invention. At 302, the in-vehicle device sendsa first set of data to a server. The first set of data may correspond tomeasurements performed by one or more sensors (e.g., environmentalsensors, such as GPS location information, temperature, direction ofmovement, etc.). At 304, the in-vehicle device receives a first set ofelements from the server in response to the first set of data. In oneexample, the first set of elements may include advertisement informationto be presented to the user of the vehicle. At 304, the in-vehicledevice presents one or more elements from the first set of elements tothe user on a display in the vehicle. In one embodiment, the display isbuilt-in the vehicle. In another embodiment, the in-vehicle devicesynchronizes a portion of the in-vehicle device with a display of asecond device (e.g., a mobile device being associated with the user, andbeing transported in the vehicle). The in-vehicle device may send thefirst set of elements to the second device to be presented to the user.

At 306, the in-vehicle device receives at least one input correspondingto at least one selected element among the one or more elements thatwere presented to the user. For example, the user may press a button onthe steering wheel, on the dashboard, or on the second device to enterhis selection. In general, the at least one input may be received froman input device built-in the vehicle, or from an input device associatedwith the second device. For example, the user may press a button on hismobile phone (or watch) to enter his selection. Any other methods ofentering a selection may be used without departing from the teachings ofthe present disclosure.

In one embodiment, the at least one input corresponds to at least oneaction to be taken by the device. For example, the user may requestadditional information corresponding to the selected element, requestnavigational information to a store corresponding to the advertiser,request to enter into a transaction or a potential transactionassociated with the selected element (or advertisement), or any otheraction corresponding to the selected element.

FIG. 4 shows exemplary operations that may be performed by a server forselecting advertisement information, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. At 402, the server receives a first set of datacorresponding to measurements performed by one or more sensors. Theserver may receive the first set of data from a multitude of sources,such as the in-vehicle device, a mobile device or any other type ofdevices. At 404, the server selects one or more output elements from asecond set of data in accordance with the first set of data. In oneembodiment, the second set of data corresponds to one or moreadvertisement elements. The server may rank the second set of data basedon the first set of data and any other data available to the server toidentify the advertisement elements that are relevant to the user of thevehicle. At 406, the server sends the one or more output elements to thein-vehicle device to be presented to a user of the vehicle. In oneexample, the one or more output elements are advertisement informationcorresponding to one or more advertising entities.

In one embodiment, the server may also receive some informationcorresponding to interest of the user of the vehicle. In general, theserver may receive this information from any sources without departingfrom the teachings of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, theserver receives user interest information from the in-vehicle device. Inanother embodiment, the server receives the user interest informationfrom a mobile device. In another embodiment, the server may retrieve theuser interest information from a database. In one embodiment, the serverranks the second set of data based on their relevance with the first setof data, and/or user interests to generate a ranked set of data. Theserver may then select one or more of highest ranked elements from theranked set of data as the one or more output elements to be presented tothe user.

FIG. 5 illustrates a simplified perspective view of graphic displayscreen 220 of vehicle 200, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. As illustrated, an output element (e.g., anadvertisement 510) may be presented to the user along with thenavigational information 520. For example, a first portion 530 of thedisplay screen 220 shows the output element 510 while a second portion540 of the car display 220 shows the navigational information to theuser. In one embodiment, graphic display screen 220 may betouch-sensitive or a touchscreen. In addition, first portion 510 of thegraphic display screen may include one or more interaction orinteractive options, such as input button 550. For example, firstportion 510 of the display screen may display a deal to save on carinsurance and input button 550 may initiate a phone call to theinsurance office.

As illustrated, the input button 550 (“call now”) may be used by theuser to select the advertisement and/or request extra information aboutthe advertisement. For example, the user may call the advertisingcompany and talk to one of their representatives. In another example,the user may receive additional pre-recorded information about theadvertising company by pressing the input button 550. The input button550 may be used to input any other interaction request by the user. Forexample, the user may enter into a transaction and/or a potentialtransaction with the advertising company. The insurance advertisement inthis example may have been selected by the server as being relevantafter detection of air bag deployment indicating a vehicle accident mayhave occurred.

In one embodiment, the output elements may be provided via a softwareapplication (e.g., an app) running inside an operating system that runsa display screen in the vehicle. In one embodiment, the softwareapplication that presents the output elements to the user is astand-alone software application that runs on one of the processorsbuilt into the vehicle. In another embodiment, the software applicationmay be integrated into other applications that are running on thein-vehicle devices. For example, the software application that presentsthe output elements may be integrated into a navigational application, amusic application, and/or any other type of application running on thein-vehicle device. For example, the output elements are presented via asoftware application running inside the operating system that runs thedisplay screen in the vehicle, such as the Windows Embedded Automotive®operating system used in the Ford Motor Company's SYNC® system

FIG. 6 illustrates an example scenario in which an in-vehicle deviceinteracts with a mobile device for displaying the information, accordingto one embodiment. In this example, an upper portion 610 of the vehicledisplay 220 shows information such as a vehicle climate control displaysupplied by the vehicle. In addition, a lower portion 620 of the displayshows the same or derived advertisement information (e.g., advertisementabout Hertz car rental company, whether in its original form or modifiedto fit the format of the graphic display screen and/or input devices).

In this example, lower portion 620 of the graphic display screendisplays a rental car logo for the user's rental car company based on arecent rental and an option to find directions to the closest car returnlocation. The information regarding the car rental company is selectedaccording to the analysis done by the server based on location sensordata indicating that the vehicle is nearing an airport. Lower portion620 of the graphic display screen may further include one or moreinteractive options, such as input button 630 to find the closest carreturn location. The user may press the input button 630 to request moreinformation. According to one embodiment, the displayed output elementsmay be dynamically updated periodically or continuously by the server inreal time according to recent sensor information and/or latest userpreferences as described below.

In one embodiment, the in-vehicle device may interact with the mobiledevice 650 of the user of the vehicle to present information to theuser. For example, one or more of the output elements may be shown onthe in-vehicle display 220, while one or more of the output elements areshown on the display 660 of the mobile device 650. In one embodiment,the in-vehicle display and the display of the mobile device aresynchronized and show the same output element(s). In another embodiment,the in-vehicle display shows an output element while the mobile deviceshows a different output element. In general, the in-vehicle device andthe mobile device may show one or more common output elements and/or oneor more differing output elements without departing from the teachingsof the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 6, display 220 showsan advertisement for the Hertz car return company while display 660 ofthe mobile device 650 shows more information/options corresponding tothe same advertisement company.

In one embodiment, commands from the user may be entered to the systemusing a multitude of input methods. For example, the user may respond toa local advertisement displayed on graphic display screen 220 built-inthe vehicle via a button disposed on the mobile device, and/or a touchsensitive icon displayed on the mobile device and/or the display of thevehicle, via a control button on the steering wheel and/or dashboard 200of the vehicle, and/or any other methods. For example, the user mayenter his selection by a special body gesture, speaking a voice or soundcommand, touching a device, and/or look or gaze at an object, and thelike. The selection from the user may awaken the mobile device andconfirm to the user which ad the user wished to respond to, thenadditional inputs (or key presses/touches/sound command inputs/controls)on the device may select additional response options or alternate ads toselect and respond to. In one embodiment, multiple levels of nestedinteractive option menus may be used by the system to navigate complexoption decisions. In one embodiment, a user may gesture, for example,wave their hand over a wearable device, or shake the device, or the usermay raise his hand or move another body part, e.g., head, in order totrigger the response/reaction to the interactive option.

In one example, the mobile device may be synchronized with thein-vehicle device through wired or wireless communications. In general,two or more separate displays (e.g., built into the vehicle and/ormobile device) may exist in the system. In addition, two or moreseparate control systems may exist (e.g., on the dashboard and/orsteering wheel of the vehicle, or on the mobile device, etc.) to displaythe output elements and/or respond to the interaction options displayed.In general, the user may respond to the presented information using oneor more of the devices. For example, the user may press a button on thedashboard to respond to the advertisement. Alternatively, the user maypress a button on his mobile phone to respond to the advertisement. Inanother embodiment, the user may use either or both buttons on thedashboard and/or or on the mobile device or both to respond to anadvertisement.

In one embodiment, the server, in real-time, may correlate, filter,select and/or rank information from a multitude of sources to generatethe output elements. For example, the server may receive someinformation corresponding to a user's interests other information fromthe user or the vehicle's current environment. This information mayinclude real-time data and/or non-real-time data. Real-time data mayrefer to an input, such as sensor readings corresponding to an event atthe actual time that the event happens. In addition, processing an inputin “real-time” refers to a substantially small amount of delay betweenreceiving an input by a device, and processing the input and generatinga corresponding output. The non-real-time data may refer to theinformation that is stored in one or more databases.

In one embodiment, the user's interests are declared interests, such asthrough active or passive feedback from the user may be used by theserver in ranking the available information. In another embodiment, theuser's interests may be predicted or anticipated automatically.

In general, any number of sensors may provide data to the server. Forexample, the location information (e.g., GPS), heading, direction, speedof the vehicle and other information corresponding to the user or thevehicle may be received from the vehicle's built-in GPS system, the GPSsystem in the user's mobile phone and/or any other devices, such as theuser's wearable device that has its own internal GPS sensors.

The sensor information may be sent to the server via cable, wirelessradio, infrared, internet network link, or any other method. In oneembodiment, data from one or more real-time sensors is passivelycollected, e.g., an audio or video sensor data may be continuouslytransmitted in real-time, for a predetermined period of time. The usermay choose the predetermined period of time via controls in the mobiledevice. In one embodiment, primary sensor information is transmittedupon request or demand, or upon a timed predetermined sequence.

In one embodiment, information relating to frequency-of-response may becollected from each individual user and/or groups of users. In oneembodiment, a sorted display of “popular” responses could be shown giventhe input (response rates) from either a specific user, users that aregrouped from a specific geographical area, and/or user's groupedaccording to a user's social graph. For example, drivers in a certaingeographic area may be responding to specific types of advertisements.Therefore, these popular advertisements may be presented to the userwhen his vehicle nears/enters that specific geographic area. In anotherembodiment, if users in a specific social group are responding tospecific types of advertisements, the user may be presented withadvertisements that are popular in his social group and/or friends.

In one embodiment, the primary information may include informationassociated with the mobile device, such as contacts, prior, e.g.,historical location data of the device, email addresses, account,serial, identification, model, firmware, web address, stored photo orvideo, historical browser information such as prior purchases and/orpayments, and/or the like. The information associated with the mobiledevice may be transmitted from the mobile device to the server.

In this document, the terms “secondary information” or “supplementalinformation” are used to refer to information that is not primaryinformation. In one embodiment, secondary information may be associatedwith a user interest from the user's social network in the cloud, suchas likes, dislikes, social graphs, social graph elements, friends,thumbs up, thumbs down, email addresses, stored photo or video, productor service reviews, #hashtags, tweets and/or the like. The informationassociated with the user's social network, such as Facebook, may bestore on the device or be received from the cloud.

In one embodiment, the user is associated with the mobile device (e.g.,the owner of a mobile device). In another embodiment, the user may notbe associated with the mobile device. For example, the user may be asocial network friend of or someone who recommends the user who isassociated with the mobile device. In this case, the data may includerecommendations, preferences, or interests of a user who is notassociated with the mobile device but is still associated through thesocial network with the user who is associated with the mobile device.Thereby, the server may have access to a multitude of user interest datafrom users who may share similar interests as the user associated withthe mobile device. In one embodiment, other sensors in the user's nearbylocation, such as sensors associated with other nearby users, fixedsensors, and/or the like may be used as primary real-time inputs. In oneembodiment, data in a user's social graph, for example such as theFacebook social graph, or other similar user data, such as the user'sfriends or friend's likes, are used to correlate and weight data inputs.In one embodiment, the information associated with advertisers may bestored in one or more databases on the server.

In one embodiment, the ranked order is associated with the user'sinterests and/or location in addition to the advertiser's location. Aslocation of the vehicle and/or mobile device changes, the outputelements presented to the user may be updated. In one embodiment, theoutput elements may be streamed continuously, periodically, atpredetermined times, or at user or advertiser request.

In one embodiment, a multitude of advertisements that arerelevant/related in real-time to the primary and/or secondary datainputs and thus selected to match the user's real-time interests may bepresented to the user. In one embodiment, at least one advertisement,which is deemed to relate in real-time to at least one of the data inputsources, may be presented to the user in the output data stream (e.g.,ranked information). In one embodiment, at least one merchant offer, forexample such as a local daily deal, which may be deemed to relate to atleast one of the data input sources, may be included in the output datastream.

In one embodiment, the output elements may include an actionable linkand/or one or more interaction options associated with at least onerelevant advertisement. For example, the actionable link may direct theuser's browser on his mobile device to a website that may initiate apurchase of a service or product. In another embodiment, the user mayrequest navigation information for the nearest store associate with anadvertisement.

In one embodiment, a portion of the output elements may be continuouslyupdated in real-time. In another embodiment, a portion of the outputelements may be updated at a predetermined time when the serverdetermines the output elements should be updated due to a change in oneof the multitude of information inputs. In one embodiment, the outputelements may be updated periodically. In one embodiment, the ranking ofthe output elements may be updated dynamically at predetermined timeswhen the server determines a new ranking order is appropriate due tochanges in one of the multitude of information inputs.

In one embodiment, server (120 as illustrated in FIG. 1) categorizes theincoming real-time events data and/or advertiser information using adata categorizing method, such as Bayesian classifier. The Bayesianclassifier uses probabilistic statistical techniques to minimize theprobability of misclassification by using training data to learn overtime how to classify the incoming real-time events data and advertiserinformation correctly. In one embodiment, the categorization of themultitude of incoming real-time events data and advertiser informationis used to create a multitude of information display types, such assports scores, local information such as movie times, local merchantsales information, and the like. In one embodiment, the multitude ofinformation display types may be presented to the user in eitherdifferent locations within a display, or are rotated/presented to theuser over time, e.g., audio streamed in user interest ranking order.

Server 120 also receives sensor data, e.g., audio, video, location,time, and device information. In one embodiment, the sensor's data maybe assigned a numerical weighting with the purpose of giving thatsensor's data a relative importance. The numerical weight assigned toany given data input is referred to as the RankWeight for that sensortype. This ranking is not the only algorithm that determines rankings inthe output results, but merely one of many factors used to determineranking of input data at any given time. The RankWeight may be static ordynamic, and may be different for different types of sensors, users, orcorresponding to other factors. In one embodiment, more recent primarysensor data, such as voice-recognized words may be given a higher weight(e.g., more relevant) than older data.

The received sensor data and the classified real-time events data andadvertiser information are used to select relevant advertisement ordata. In one embodiment, the information may be ranked by a weighted sumapproach, Eigen-vector approach, or any other approach and/or algorithm.In one embodiment, collaborative filtering may be used to automaticallyestimate the relevance for the data. For example, data may be assigned apredicted weight factor (e.g., by filtering) based on matching amultitude of recommendations, e.g., collaboration, from social mediafriends for data that the user of the mobile device has not directlyrated. Collaborative filtering leverages the extensive data input fromsocial media and the other extensive secondary data sources that areinput to the server with high statistical confidence.

Several exemplary formulas are presented below to demonstrate how tocalculate weighted averages which serves as an element in calculating arelevance of data. The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean,e.g., the most common type of average, where instead of each of the datapoints contributing equally to the final average, some data pointscontribute more than other data points. The notion of weighted meanplays a role in descriptive statistics and also occurs in a more generalform in several other areas of mathematics. Formally, a weighted mean ofa non-empty set of data {x₁, x₂, . . . , x_(n)}, with non-negativeweights {w₁, w₂, . . . , w_(n)}, can be written as follows:

${\overset{\_}{x} = \frac{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}{w_{i}x_{i}}}{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{n}w_{i}}},{or}$$\overset{\_}{x} = {\frac{{w_{1}x_{1}} + {w_{2}x_{2}} + \cdots + {w_{n}x_{n}}}{w_{1} + w_{2} + \cdots + w_{n}}.}$

Therefore, data elements with a high weight contribute more to theweighted mean than do elements with a low weight. The weights cannot benegative. Some may be zero, but not all of them (since division by zerois not allowed).

The formulas are simplified when the weights are normalized such thatthey sum up to one (e.g., Σ_(1,i.e.i=1) ^(n)w_(i)=1). For suchnormalized weights, the weighted mean can be written as follows:

$\overset{\_}{x} = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}\;{w_{i}x_{i}}}$

Note that one may normalize the weights by making a transformation onthe weights such that

$w_{i}^{\prime} = {\frac{w_{i}}{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{n}w_{j}}.}$Using the normalized weights yields the same results as when using theoriginal weights. Indeed,

$\begin{matrix}{\overset{\_}{x} = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}{w_{i}^{\prime}x_{i}}}} \\{= {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}{\frac{w_{i}}{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{n}w_{j}}x_{i}}}} \\{= \frac{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}{w_{i}x_{i}}}{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{n}w_{j}}} \\{= {\frac{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}{w_{i}x_{i}}}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}w_{i}}.}}\end{matrix}$

The common mean

$\frac{1}{n}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}x_{i}}$is a special case of the weighted mean where all data have equalweights, w_(i)=w. When the weights are normalized, then

$w_{i}^{\prime} = {\frac{1}{n}.}$

To take into account variance, the weighted mean of a list of data forwhich each element xi comes from a different probability distributionwith known variance σ_(i) ², one possible choice for the weights may bewritten as follows:

$w_{i} = {\frac{1}{\sigma_{i}^{2}}.}$

The weighted mean may then be written as follows:

${\overset{\_}{x} = \frac{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}\;\left( {x_{i}w_{i}} \right)}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}w_{i}}},$and the variance of the weighted mean may be written as follows:

${\sigma_{\overset{\_}{x}}^{2} = \frac{1}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}w_{i}}},$which reduces to

${\sigma_{\overset{\_}{x}}^{2} = \frac{\sigma_{0}^{2}}{n}},$when all σ_(i)=σ₀.

The significance of this choice is that this weighted mean is themaximum likelihood estimator of the mean of the probabilitydistributions under the assumption that they are independent andnormally distributed with the same mean.

Vector-Valued Estimates:

As in the scalar case, the weighted mean of multiple estimates canprovide a maximum likelihood estimate. For vector-valued estimates, σ2may be replaced by the covariance matrix, as follows:W _(i)=Σ_(i) ⁻¹.

The weighted mean may be written as follows:

${\overset{\_}{x} = {\left( {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}\;\sum\limits_{i}^{- 1}}\; \right)^{- 1}\left( {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}\;{\sum\limits_{i}^{- 1}\; x_{i}}} \right)}},$and the covariance of the weighted mean may be written as follows:

${\sum\limits_{\overset{\_}{x}}\;{= \left( {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}\;\sum\limits_{i}^{- 1}}\; \right)^{- 1}}},$

For example, consider the weighted mean of the point [1 0] with highvariance in the second component and [0 1] with high variance in thefirst component. Then

${x_{1} = \lbrack 10\rbrack^{T}},{\sum\limits_{1}\;{= \begin{bmatrix}1 & 0 \\0 & 100\end{bmatrix}}}$${x_{2} = \lbrack 01\rbrack^{T}},{\sum\limits_{2}\;{= \begin{bmatrix}100 & 0 \\0 & 1\end{bmatrix}}},$Then, the weighted mean may be written as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{\overset{\_}{x} = {\left( {\sum\limits_{1}^{- 1}{+ \sum\limits_{2}^{- 1}}} \right)^{- 1}\left( {{\sum\limits_{1}^{- 1}x_{1}} + {\sum\limits_{2}^{- 1}x_{2}}} \right)}} \\{= {\begin{bmatrix}0.9901 & 0 \\0 & 0.9901\end{bmatrix}\begin{bmatrix}1 \\1\end{bmatrix}}} \\{{= \begin{bmatrix}0.9901 \\0.9901\end{bmatrix}},}\end{matrix}$in this case, the [1 0] estimate is “compliant” in the second componentand the [0 1] estimate is compliant in the first component, so theweighted mean is nearly [1 1].

Another method of calculation takes into account correlations betweendata elements. In the general case, suppose that X=[x₁, . . . , x_(n)],C is the covariance matrix relating the quantities xi, x is the commonmean to be estimated, and W is the design matrix [1, . . . , 1] (oflength n). The Gauss-Markov theorem states that the estimate of the meanhaving minimum variance is written as follows:

${\sigma_{\overset{\_}{x}}^{2} = \left( {W^{T}C^{- 1}W} \right)^{- 1}},{and}$$\overset{\_}{x} = {{\sigma_{\overset{\_}{x}}^{2}\left( {W^{T}C^{- 1}X} \right)}.}$

Consider the time series of an independent variable x and a dependentvariable y, with n observations sampled at discrete times ti. In manycommon situations, the value of y at time ti depends not only on xi butalso on its past values. Commonly, the strength of this dependencedecreases as the separation of observations in time increases. To modelthis situation, one may replace the independent variable by its slidingmean z for a window size m, as follows:

${z_{k}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{m}{w_{i}x_{k + 1 - i}}}},$

In the scenario described in the previous section, most frequently thedecrease in interaction strength obeys a negative exponential law. Ifthe observations are sampled at equidistant times, then exponentialdecrease is equivalent to decrease by a constant fraction 0<Δ<1 at eachtime step. Setting w=1=Δ, m normalized weights can be defined asfollows:

${w_{i} = \frac{w^{i - 1}}{v_{1}}},$where V1 is the sum of the un-normalized weights. In this case V1 can bewritten as follows:

${V_{1} = {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{m}\; w^{i - 1}} = \frac{1 - w^{m}}{1 - w}}},$

In this case, V1 approaches V1=1/(1−w) for large values of m.

The damping constant w corresponds to the actual decrease of interactionstrength. If this cannot be determined from theoretical considerations,then the following properties of exponentially decreasing weights areuseful in making a suitable choice: at step (1−w)−1, the weightapproximately equals to e−1(1−w)=0.39(1−w), the tail area approximatelyequals to e−1, the head area approximately equals to 1−e−1=0.61. Thetail area at step n is ≤e−n(1−w), where primarily the closest nobservations matter and the effect of the remaining observations can beignored safely. Then the damping constant w may be chosen such that thetail area is sufficiently small. It should be noted that the weightcalculation methods described above are mere examples, and any otherweight calculating and/or ranking method may be used without departingfrom the teachings of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, the user may provide active feedback via the mobiledevice. Active feedback may include explicit user feedback, e.g.,thumbs-up or thumbs-down, and/or selecting an option among presentedinteractive options. Active feedback may further include implicit userfeedback based for example on the user purchasing an advertised productor service. An example of implicit user feedback may be when a user buysthe product or service or visits a vendor or service venue. Userfeedback may be stored in a user interest database. User interest datamay further include historical information, which may be heavilyweighted to prefer recent data. Historical information may include priorpurchases, location destinations, and the like. In one embodiment, auser's feedback or selections are used to modify/change the weightingsof that user's later displayed resulting information. In one embodiment,relevance outputs can be weighted by a user's stated, e.g., explicituser feedback, or detected, e.g., implicit user feedback interests. Forexample, twitter #hashtags, Facebook Likes, recent social media or emaildata, a user's friend's Facebook postings, and the like.

In one embodiment, when the primary sensor information is continuouslytransmitted, the server may continuously and/or passively monitor (e.g.,“listen”), decode using voice recognition, and correlate words orphrases in conversation within hearing distance of the mobile device, toprovide real-time user interest information associated with those“heard” words. For example, if the microphone input of the mobile devicehears the word “hungry,” the server may automatically display a distanceto a restaurant that serves food that is of interest to the user. Inanother embodiment, when the primary sensor information is continuouslytransmitted, the server may continuously and/or passively monitor,decode and correlate captured video or periodically sampled staticvisual images in the line-of-sight of the mobile device, to provide realtime user interest information. In one embodiment, the decoded video orcamera image data may include decoded text key words or symbolsassociated with advertising.

In one embodiment, data such as #hashtags associated with a user'sinterests, or in another example a list of “likes” associated with auser's interests, are used to correlate and weight data inputs. Forexample, if a user's wearable-computing-device recognizes (e.g.,passively or actively) the words “Italian,” then one such resultingoutput streams may be Italian restaurants in the local area.

In one embodiment, the weighting of the data may be influenced by otherrelevant people's prior selections. Other relevant people may includepeople other than the user who may be nearby, friends, or anyone else.Such ranking may be further ranked according to the other relevantperson's “distance,” e.g., geographic distance, social graph distance,and/or the like, from the user. In one embodiment, tweets, Facebookposts, and other social media or blog or related posts (entries) areused as inputs into the server.

In one embodiment, the resulting information (e.g., output elements) maynot necessarily be displayed or immediately displayed on the samedevice. A first portion of the multitude of resulting information may bedisplayed on a mobile device, while a second portion different than thefirst portion may be displayed on another mobile device.

In one embodiment, pictures and any resulting text or extracted data,e.g., facial recognition/identification of people captured by thesensors on the user's mobile device may be used as primary inputs intothe real-time relevance engine. In one embodiment, data from the sensorson the user's mobile device are combined and/or correlated with sensorinput data from other nearby sensors to increase the confidence of therank weighting of that sensor's data. Other nearby sensors may includesensors corresponding to other users, or any other fixed sensor that arein close proximity to the user. This combined/correlated sensor data mayboth increase the confidence of the sensor input when two differentnearby sensors are sensing the same inputs, or could decrease theconfidence when two nearby sensors are detecting different information.

In one embodiment, an intention detection output from the server may becalculated based on a weighted input of factors including; a) real timelocation sensor data, e.g., what shopping district the mobile device anduser are in, b) place of business, e.g., what specific store the mobiledevice is in, and c) detected items, e.g., what product packaging themobile device is seeing in real time. In one embodiment, real-timeanalytics are output from the server. Such analytics and/or “intentiondetection” outputs may be used to improve relevant advertisementselection.

FIG. 7 shows a simplified block diagram of a computer system 700 thatmay incorporate embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 7 is merelyillustrative of an embodiment incorporating the present invention anddoes not limit the scope of the invention as recited in the claims. Oneof ordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations,modifications, and alternatives. In one embodiment, the computer system700 is the in-vehicle device. In another embodiment, the computer system700 is the mobile device.

In one embodiment, computer system 700 typically includes a monitor ordisplay 710, a computer 720, user output devices 730, user input devices740, communications interface 750, and the like. Computer system 700 mayalso be a smart phone, tablet-computing device, and the like, such thatthe boundary of computer 720 may enclose monitor or graphical userinterface 710, user output devices 730, user input devices 740, and/orcommunications interface 750 (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 7, computer 720 may include a processor(s) 760 thatcommunicates with a number of peripheral devices via a bus subsystem790. These peripheral devices may include user output devices 730, userinput devices 740, communications interface 750, and a storagesubsystem, such as random access memory (RAM) 770 and disk drive ornon-volatile memory 780.

User input devices 730 include all possible types of devices andmechanisms for inputting information to computer system 720. These mayinclude a keyboard, a keypad, a touch screen incorporated into thedisplay, audio input devices such as voice recognition systems,microphones, and other types of input devices. In various embodiments,user input devices 730 are typically embodied as a computer mouse, atrackball, a track pad, a joystick, wireless remote, drawing tablet,voice command system, eye tracking system, and the like. User inputdevices 730 typically allow a user to select objects, icons, text andthe like that appear on the monitor or graphical user interface 710 viaa command such as a click of a button, touch of the display screen, orthe like.

User output devices 740 include all possible types of devices andmechanisms for outputting information from computer 720. These mayinclude a display (e.g., monitor or graphical user interface 710),non-visual displays such as audio output devices, etc.

Communications interface 750 provides an interface to othercommunication networks and devices. Communications interface 750 mayserve as an interface for receiving data from and transmitting data toother systems. Embodiments of communications interface 750 typicallyinclude an Ethernet card, a modem (telephone, satellite, cable, ISDN),(asynchronous) digital subscriber line (DSL) unit, FireWire interface,USB interface, and the like. For example, communications interface 750may be coupled to a computer network, to a FireWire bus, or the like. Inother embodiments, communications interfaces 750 may be physicallyintegrated on the motherboard of computer 720, and may be a softwareprogram, such as soft DSL, or the like. Embodiments of communicationsinterface 750 may also include a wireless radio transceiver using radiotransmission protocols such as Bluetooth®, WiFi®, cellular, and thelike.

In various embodiments, computer system 700 may also include softwarethat enables communications over a network such as the HTTP, TCP/IP,RTP/RTSP protocols, and the like. In alternative embodiments of thepresent invention, other communications software and transfer protocolsmay also be used, for example IPX, UDP or the like.

In some embodiment, computer 720 includes one or more Xeonmicroprocessors from Intel as processor(s) 760. Further, one embodiment,computer 720 includes a UNIX-based operating system. In anotherembodiment, the processor may be included in an applications processoror part of a system on a chip.

RAM 770 and disk drive or non-volatile memory 780 are examples oftangible media configured to store data such as embodiments of thepresent invention, including executable computer code, human readablecode, or the like. Other types of tangible media include floppy disks,removable hard disks, optical storage media such as CD-ROMS, DVDs andbar codes, semiconductor memories such as flash memories,read-only-memories (ROMS), battery-backed volatile memories, networkedstorage devices, and the like. RAM 770 and disk drive or non-volatilememory 780 may be configured to store the basic programming and dataconstructs that provide the functionality of the present invention.

Software code modules and instructions that provide the functionality ofthe present invention may be stored in RAM 770 and disk drive ornon-volatile memory 780. These software modules may be executed byprocessor(s) 760. RAM 770 and disk drive or non-volatile memory 780 mayalso provide a repository for storing data used in accordance with thepresent invention.

RAM 770 and disk drive or non-volatile memory 780 may include a numberof memories including a main random access memory (RAM) for storage ofinstructions and data during program execution and a read only memory(ROM) in which fixed instructions are stored. RAM 770 and disk drive ornon-volatile memory 780 may include a file storage subsystem providingpersistent (non-volatile) storage for program and data files. RAM 770and disk drive or non-volatile memory 780 may also include removablestorage systems, such as removable flash memory.

Bus subsystem 790 provides a mechanism for letting the variouscomponents and subsystems of computer 720 communicate with each other asintended. Although bus subsystem 790 is shown schematically as a singlebus, alternative embodiments of the bus subsystem may utilize multiplebusses.

FIG. 7 is representative of a computer system capable of embodying aportion of the present invention. It will be readily apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art that many other hardware and softwareconfigurations are suitable for use with the present invention. Forexample, the computer may be a desktop, laptop, portable, rack-mounted,smart phone or tablet configuration. Additionally, the computer may be aseries of networked computers. Further, the use of other microprocessorsare contemplated, such as Pentium™ or Itanium™ microprocessors; Opteron™or AthlonXP™ microprocessors from Advanced Micro Devices, Inc; embeddedprocessors such as ARM® licensed from ARM® Holdings plc., and the like.Further, other types of operating systems are contemplated, such asWindows®, WindowsXP®, WindowsNT®, WindowsRT®, Windows EmbeddedAutomotive® or the like from Microsoft Corporation, Solaris from SunMicrosystems, LINUX, UNIX, or mobile operating systems such as Android®from Google Inc., iOS® from Apple Inc., Symbion® from Nokia Corp., andthe like. In still other embodiments, the techniques described above maybe implemented upon a chip or an auxiliary processing board.

Various embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in theform of logic in software or hardware or a combination of both. Thelogic may be stored in a computer readable or machine-readablenon-transitory storage medium as a set of instructions adapted to directa processor of a computer system to perform a set of steps disclosed inembodiments of the present invention. The logic may form part of acomputer program product adapted to direct an information-processingdevice to perform a set of steps disclosed in embodiments of the presentinvention. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, aperson of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate other ways and/ormethods to implement the present invention.

The above embodiments of the present invention are illustrative and notlimiting. The above embodiments of the present invention may becombined, in one or multiple combinations, as various alternatives andequivalents are possible. Although, the invention has been describedwith reference to a wearable-computing device such as a smart-watch byway of an example, it is understood that the invention is not limited bythe type of wearable device. Although, the invention has been describedwith reference to certain radio communications interface by way of anexample, it is understood that the invention is not limited by the typeof radio, wireless, or wired communications interface. Although, theinvention has been described with reference to certain operating systemsby way of an example, it is understood that the invention is not limitedby the type of operating systems. Other additions, subtractions, ormodifications are obvious in view of the present disclosure and areintended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing information to a user of avehicle, comprising: receiving, by a device built into the vehicle,sensor data corresponding to measurements performed by one or moresensors of a mobile device, wherein the mobile device is wirelesslytethered to the device built into the vehicle via a local proximitynetwork; sending, by the device built into the vehicle, primaryinformation associated with the sensor data to a server through anetwork; receiving, by the device built into the vehicle, a first set ofelements from the server in response to sending the primary informationassociated with the sensor data, the first set of elements configuredfor display on a display in the vehicle; synchronizing, by the devicebuilt into the vehicle, a portion of the first set of elements with asecond display of the mobile device via the local proximity network;presenting, by the device built into the vehicle, one or more elementsfrom the first set of elements on the display in the vehicle; sending,by the device built into the vehicle, a portion of the first set ofelements to the mobile device according to the synchronizing; andreceiving input, via the display in the vehicle or the second display ofthe mobile device, of a selection from among the one or more elements.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more data elementspresented on the display in the vehicle each in an actionable linkconfigured to direct a browser to a website.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the selection from among the one or more elements causes abrowser to take at least one action.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinthe at least one action comprises requesting additional informationcorresponding to the selected element.
 5. The method of claim 3, whereinthe at least one action comprises requesting navigational information toa venue corresponding to an advertiser.
 6. The method of claim 3,wherein the at least one action comprises a request to enter into atransaction or a potential transaction associated with the selectedelement.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the presenting one or moreelements from the first set of elements comprises: sending the one ormore elements to a second device associated with the user to bepresented on a screen of the mobile device.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the selection is received from an input device built into thevehicle.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection is receivedfrom the mobile device.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayis built into the vehicle.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: synchronizing the display built into the vehicle with asecond display of the mobile device.
 12. The method of claim 1, whereinthe presenting one or more elements from the first set of elementsfurther comprises presenting an audio corresponding to the one or moreelements.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the oneor more sensors is disposed in the vehicle.
 14. The method of claim 1,wherein the at least one of the one or more sensors is disposed in themobile device.
 15. An apparatus built into a vehicle for providinginformation to a user, the apparatus comprising: a communicationsinterface including a transmitter and receiver; a non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium comprising executable computer code;and a processor, wherein the executable computer code, with theprocessor, cause the apparatus to: receive sensor data corresponding tomeasurements performed by one or more sensors of a mobile device,wherein the mobile device is wirelessly tethered to the device builtinto the vehicle via a local proximity network; transmit primaryinformation associated with the sensor data to a server through anetwork; receive a first set of elements from the server in response tosending the primary information associated with the sensor data, thefirst set of elements configured for display on a display in thevehicle; synchronize a portion of the first set of elements with asecond display of the mobile device via the local proximity network;present one or more elements from the first set of elements on thedisplay in the vehicle; send a portion of the first set of elements tothe mobile device according to the synchronizing; and receive input, viathe display in the vehicle or the second display of the mobile device,of a selection from among the one or more elements.
 16. A non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium for providing information to a user of avehicle, comprising processor-readable instructions configured to causea processor to: receive, by a device built into the vehicle, sensor datacorresponding to measurements performed by one or more sensors of amobile device, wherein the mobile device is wirelessly tethered to thedevice built into the vehicle via a local proximity network; send, bythe device built into the vehicle, primary information associated withthe sensor data to a server through a network; receive, by the devicebuilt into the vehicle, a first set of elements from the server inresponse to sending the primary information associated with the sensordata, the first set of elements configured for display on a display inthe vehicle; synchronizing, by the device built into the vehicle, aportion of the first set of elements with a second display of the mobiledevice via the local proximity network; present, by the device builtinto the vehicle, one or more elements from the first set of elements onthe display in the vehicle; sending, by the device built into thevehicle, a portion of the first set of elements to the mobile deviceaccording to the synchronizing; and receive input, via the display inthe vehicle or the second display of the mobile device, of a selectionfrom among the one or more elements.